Flora The Explorer - Page 13 of 28 -

A Sensory Wander Through the Souks of Marrakech, Morocco

Posted on March 3, 2015

Have you ever explored the souks of Marrakech? Morocco is the most atmospheric country I’ve ever visited. There are horse-drawn carts moving bumpily along palm-tree-lined highways; the red flags with green stars, interspersed with banners filled with Arabic script strung from lampposts. There are huge dishes of steaming tagines, their dark clay lids balanced on white tablecloths. And every few moments you hear the eerily beautiful words of the call to prayer emanating from dozens of minarets all at once. But…

Europe France

The French Art of Reclaiming Spaces

Posted on February 19, 2015

There are a few particular elements of urban life that I always watch out for when I travel. Give me one glimpse of an intriguing piece of street art and I’m lost for hours; the same thing happens in local food markets, and sadly I’m a sucker for following a pink-hued, soft-clouded sunset. While these are all common interests for the majority of travellers who wield a camera, there’s something else I often notice which isn’t so common. For some reason, I’m fascinated by…

advice Cuba Solo Travel South America

How to Travel in Cuba on the Cheap – A Budget Travel Guide

Posted on January 30, 2015

[Last updated in 2019] With the changes in travel restrictions for US citizens to Cuba, many more people are now planning their visits to the island. If you’ve got a limited budget but still want to see as much of Cuba as possible, then please keep reading my guide for the cheapest way to travel to Cuba. And if you’ve already visited Cuba and have some budgeting tips to add, then please comment at the end of the article! When you imagine…

Camino de Santiago Challenges Solo Travel Spain Travel Plans

El Camino de Santiago: I’m Walking ‘The Way’ Across Spain

Posted on January 8, 2015

Over Christmas, my friend announced that she’s planning to run the London marathon in April. She’s running for a cause important to both of us: her mum passed away from breast cancer three years ago, the same cancer that took my own mum. My first thought was extreme respect – running for 26 miles straight is no easy task! – but then I felt a little deflated. If I was ever going to run a marathon, this would be the race and the charity I’d…

Belgium

Leuven, Belgium: the Best Things to Do in a Fairytale City

Posted on December 27, 2014

I’m on my way to Leuven in Belgium. The train bursts out of its tunnel into the golden light of an early morning. I look at the frost on the peaks of ploughed field earth; the low roofed farm houses; the copses of trees clustered against the curves of narrow roadways. Squares of bright green vegetation rushing past. Banks of orange leaves and the occasional pine. I watch the clock on my computer screen skip forward an hour and felt…

England

How to Travel the World (Without Leaving London)

Posted on December 8, 2014

“So where are you from?” asks the girl chopping up onions beside me. We’ve been preparing food in the companionable semi-silence of a small hostel kitchen for a good few minutes: it’s time to have the obligatory initial travellers conversation. “Oh, I’m from London, in England. How about you?” I reply – and the girl’s curiosity is piqued. “Wow, that’s amazing!” she says. “Are you really from London? I love it there…” Why is London such a popular place to travel…

England

Autumn Indulgence in the English Countryside

Posted on November 21, 2014

I’ve known two of my closest friends for over a decade. We met during our first year of secondary school, spending our lunch breaks with our legs stretched out between rows of blue metal lockers and writing notes to each other in class. For the last few years, it’s been harder to keep our friendship at the same level. We studied at different universities, and then lived and travelled through different countries: without the internet, it would have been almost…

Challenges Romania

Life at the Top of the World: Hiking the Ceahlau Massif in Romania

Posted on November 5, 2014

At the top of Ceahlau mountain sits a little red house. There is a garden just outside the front door, fenced in by a wooden gate, which looks out across a valley of Romanian mountains covered in trees. In the house lives a radiologist. For seven days at a time, he spends his days shuffling from room to room, checking machines, writing notes, turning dials, tightening wires, and boiling kettles for cups of tea. Occasionally, he steps out into the garden…

Bolivia Brazil Challenges Colombia Cuba Ecuador Personal Peru Solo Travel South America Women

Sexism and Machismo: the Attitude to Women in Latin America

Posted on October 23, 2014

Travelling as a woman will always open up avenues that are unavailable to men. Despite being foreigners and strangers, women often connect with local children, young mothers, and old ladies with an immediacy borne from an innate trust in our gender. We are invited into Indian wedding ceremonies and Thai family kitchens, and given privileges that a male stranger could rarely hope to receive. But a female traveller will also face prejudice around the world, in the form of sexism and discrimination,…

Challenges Denmark

Danish Lessons in How to Ride a Bike

Posted on October 9, 2014

I’ve never been a fan of cycling. The last time I actually owned a bike I was aged about 13, and it sat in the garden growing rusty while I argued with my mum about how embarrassing it was going to be for me to wear a helmet if I attempted to cycle to school. Travelling often throws bikes your way, though, and over the years I’ve tried to embrace the joys of cycling abroad. So I flipped headfirst over…

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